Allianz's Board of Management is getting a first-class specialist in Balbinot. The 56-year old has made a name for himself as someone who knows his way around the international insurance industry; he has worked for Generali in Munich, Zurich and Paris among others, and he has also been president of the industry association Insurance Europe since 2011. In the underwriting business, Balbinot is considered a “quiet diplomat”.
“It has definitely helped me in my professional career that I find it easy to recognize different viewpoints, cultures and sensitivities, and that I'm able to listen,” he says. His balanced management style was important for ensuring stability at Generali during a period characterized by upheavals. This talent should also benefit him at Allianz.
Born in Tarvis, in the far north-east of Italy, Balbinot demonstrated his potential early on with a series of outstanding achievements. He passed his university entrance qualification with top grades, and graduated in his economics studies with distinction. In 1983, he started working in Munich at Deutscher Lloyd, a subsidiary of Generali, and worked his way up over the years to the company's board of management. In 2002, he was made co-CEO of Generali, an arguably unique configuration in the insurance sector.
“It has definitely helped me in my professional career that I’m able to listen.”
During his time in this role he restructured the Generali Group's foreign activities and expanded its international presence throughout Europe and beyond. His name is above all linked with the positioning of Generali in China, where the Group now counts as one of the largest foreign life insurers in the country.
Alongside Italian, the father of two speaks German, Spanish, English and French. Outside of his professional obligations, Balbinot has been involved in charitable activities for many years now. In 2004, he founded Bambini del Danubio, which helps to provide medical treatment to seriously ill children from all over the world. He is not just president of the organization, but also finances it.
Since 2012, he has also been president of the organization Diplomatia, a private association that promotes political and economic relations with countries that are traditionally closely associated with Italy. Balbinot holds an honorary degree from St. John's University in New York, and was awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
